Page 36 of Puck Drop
I stare out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of her again.
“You got a girlfriend, so now you’re ignoring me?” Sebastian tries to sound butthurt, his voice traveling all the way to the back of the bus.
“Dude,” I turn in my seat to look at him. “Why you gotta be so loud?” My eyes move to glance around while my body stays in the same position, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, like we’re in a spy movie.
“The fuck did I even do?” my friend and teammate wonders out loud.
I am about to reply to him when my cell phone digs with a message. I welcome the opportunity to buy myself some time before responding to him, so I pull out my phone and pretend like it could be something important.
The happy chuckle escaping the back of my throat at seeing who the message is from is in total contradiction with the secretive way I’ve been acting.
Lizzie: I just wanted to see you off. I’m so sorry!
Me: I’m so happy that you did, babe. I can’t wait to get back home. I wish I could’ve kissed you just now…
Lizzie: I wanted you to kiss me, too, Lo
My fingers freeze over the screen when her reply pops up. I can feel Sebastian breathing over my shoulder. When I turn my head to look at him, I notice him squinting his eyes as he tries to read the messages on my phone.
“Dude!” I turn my phone over so he can’t see anything anymore. “What are you doing?” I hiss at him.
His eyes widen in genuine surprise. “What do you mean?”
“You’re reading my texts,” I explain the obvious.
“So?” he shrugs. “Not like she was sending you nudes.” His face splits into a grin. “I mean, if she happens to send you some while my eyes are on your screen, it’s all fair game.”
Sweat breaks down my back in an instant. I have this sudden urge to tackle him to the ground, then punch him until he loses consciousness.
Sebastian reads the situation correctly. “I was joking,” he assures me. “I talk stupid sometimes. I’d never hit on your girl or anything. Especially not Elizabeth Brown, given your history and all…”
“Be quiet,” I hiss at him at again. “No one can know!”
He stares at me for a while longer. “I don’t get it,” he finally says. “I thought you made things official with her. Isn’t that why you left my place like your ass was on fire the other day?”
I sigh at the reminder, then look away. The crowd lining up the side of the bus catches my attention. I find myself distracted as I try to look out and catch a glimpse of Elizabeth. At some point, I think I see her, and I plaster my face against the glass, hoping that she can see me, too, even though I know that it’s tinted so the probability of her noticing me is very slim.
“The hell you doing, man?” Our forward, Stryker Bell, or Bell as he asked to be called, butts in. His long blond hair falls over his eyes when he glances my way.
“I’m just looking out the window,” I snap at him. “Is that not allowed?”
Bell rolls his eyes at me. “It’s allowed, and so is making out with the window,” he adds. “It looked like you two were having a moment.”
I flip him off but can’t stop myself from laughing at the side eye he gives me.
“Hey, dude, how’s it going with you and Harrison?” Sebastian grabs Bell’s attention.
And just like that, the amusement dies on Bell’s face. “Why you ask?”
“No reason,” Sebastian shrugs. “Just weird how Coach paired you two like that. He’s a little intense, am I right?”
There’s a brief moment when I think I see emotion crossing Bell’s features. But it vanishes so quickly, I don’t have time to analyze it. Besides, I don’t even care. We all know that Bell swings both ways. He’s loud and proud about it, no secrets there. His current reaction might indicate that he does have something going on with Ethan Harrison. Although, as far as I know, Ethan is as straight as they come. Either way, I got enough problems of my own, and I don’t have time to care about what Bell’s problem is.
Right now, I watch as he completely ignores Sebastian’s question. He turns around and walks away to find his seat.
“Everybody’s so fucking weird lately,” my buddy mumbles next to me. “Are you going to tell me what the deal with this chick is, or are you gonna pull a Bell on me?”
I smirk at him. “It’s probably because you don’t have a life, so you’re constantly worried about what everyone else is doing.”
